God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo)

This is a discussion on God saved me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway (in a VW Polo) within Drive Safe, part of the Road Safety category; Thank "GOD" for saving you my friend. Airbags deployed or not, you are save and healthy which makes me happy.
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Thank "GOD" for saving you my friend. Airbags deployed or not, you are save and healthy which makes me happy.

The below happened with my friend in his Punto 90HP. Thankfully FIAT saved him and his wife as his FIAT was sandwiched between two lorries (four rear tires of the lorry was in air and lorry was landing on the Punto!) and airbags were deployed.

Looking at the car, no one can take a wild guess also that some one survived. You were very very lucky.

Strangely, after a long driving vacation weekend, I returned to office and within minutes, I got to read about this accident and then the one involving the Fiat Punto. Both gave me goose bumps for sure. In Polo, the airbags did not deploy and the brakes + tires + rain may not have given the desired result.

In the Punto however the Airbags got deployed even while it stationary at a red light. May be because it was a frontal impact.

You were indeed very lucky to survive a crash like that. God is with you.

Makes me agree with experts who suggest to live and cherish each day of our lives or live as if you were to die tomorrow.

I'm glad I have the Polo's elder cousin sister- the Rapid.
Seeing what has happened to your car, I would say a word of thanks for the baby. She held you and protected you so that no further harm came your way and you were in a state to write about it in a few hours.

God bless, and we are all glad that you are safe. Hats off to the support crew who also arrived at the spot so promptly.

Despite all the 5* crash test ratings of cars from other countries, they say that if you have to meet with an accident...you'd better be in a German car. I hope you kissed your Polo for saving your life

I am so happy that you came out of it without a head injury. I am also glad that you had your seat belt on. This is your second life and I am certain that this gift has been bestowed on you for a reason. Soul search and dive deep within yourself and you will soon get to know what it is. Then work towards its fullfillment. Sorry to talk like this, even I had a crash of equal proportions and suffered a lot, hence, I say this. Best of luck with the ribs, they will heal before you know. Thank god!!

This is the reply I received from VW after their preliminary examination: Any comments are welcome.

Dear XXXXX

Greetings from Volkswagen Passenger Cars!

We regret to learn of the unfortunate incident.

We understand that your car has reported at M/s Volkswagen Pune West on August 18,2012.As regards to your concern pertaining to airbags, we wish to inform that your Volkswagen Polo is equipped with two frontal airbags. In case of rapid deceleration, the frontal sensors detect the same and airbags deploy.

On preliminary inspection by our dealership M/s Volkswagen Pune West, it is understood that the impact was from rear and hence airbags did not deployed.

We assure you that your concerns will be attended at the earliest as per Volkswagen standards.

Frontosa, whether it was Divine Intervention or the laws of physics or your good deeds of the past that got you out of this accident can be a debate for those who are interested, but you are alive and healthy to tell this tale is the most important thing for you and your family. You should surely celebrate August 14 as your second birthday. Based on my limited knowledge I suggest the following cars as your next buy: Polo/Vento/Jetta, Punto/Linea.

One more question: Can I consider Skoda as safe as VW? Or Renault as safe as VW? I mean are all European cars similarly strong? (the shell I mean)? I always thought FIAT and VW are stronger but other European cars may not be. (well in the upto 20 lac budget I thought).

I would think that any modern car (including Korean, Japanese, American)would have provided you the same level of protection your VW has given you. Some cars may have flimsy sheet metal but they do have strong super structure/cage, which is what is important in these type of situations.
As we can see the car body shell has collapsed, it is just a matter of coincidence that the point where you were sitting has deformed less (car must have fallen on it's back along the roof-line on the opposite side). It is also possible that you were ducking out of reflex/instinct which has helped in avoiding the head banging against the deforming roof.

@Frontosa, it was really scary to go through your narration of the incident and happy that you are safe ! On reading VW response you got, it makes me feel that it is better to go for a car with airbags which can help from even side impact. Unfortunately all these potential life saving equipments are considered as luxury in India ! Take care.

I don't fully buy what VW has said. The airbags should have deployed when you hit the RCC wall of the duct. The only reason that might not happen is that the sensors are positioned too much towards the center.

I don't fully buy what VW has said. The airbags should have deployed when you hit the RCC wall of the duct. The only reason that might not happen is that the sensors are positioned too much towards the center.

The sensors are mostly in the steering rake. So any damage which the rake senses will deploy the airbags irrespective of what the speed is and wether the engine is running is not.

How was your driving on that fateful trip before the incident? I ask because some people here have had some scary experiences with S Drives, under hard braking. They were all in diesel cars with ABS. I think there is a thread on that too.

This is the most relevant point here. I have come across multiple such instances where the S Drives have behaved similarly. I will add one more dimension to this. 30K on perhaps Apolo Aceleres might have NOT caused this. On the other hand, S drives at 30 K would be far more worn considering they are a softer compound and wear faster. The grip lost in such cases is exponential with increasing miles on the tires.

God bless you and good to see you type in this post. Welcome to your second life. It's hard to believe that someone actually walked off that car. And seriously, airbags deployed or not, I am impressed with the way you managed to walk out of the car. Considering that you are not invited by Fantastic four yet, I would like to give credits to the car and to the really beautiful lady luck that gave you company. Wow ! I am out of words.

It is no doubt a horror story that has a happy ending though. Its also a miraculous escape from the inevitable.
As someone has already said here, I also agree that your birthday should also be celebrated on this day of the miracle happening.
The remains of your car, turned into an amoeba as you put it, I feel does not speak much about the build quality, though that may be a wee bit better than some competing brands. The 'A', 'B' and 'C' pillars have all turned ductile and have folded and deformed in whatever way they could. The passenger compartment from the pillars down below though, has not got much compressed either transversely or longitudinally. and that's because it was not hit there by any oncoming vehicle.Its the almighty and providence that has saved you.
There is a thread here on teambhp and also there is a facebook page about a Mercedes S Class that recently was going from Delhi to Jaipur. The owner was driving it and the driver's side 'A' pillar got hit. This pillar in turn caused head injuries to the driver and killed him instantly.The airbags did not deploy nor did the other electronic safety braking features save him.The airbag sensors rightfully have no mechanism for getting deployed when the 'A' pillar or anything other than the place where the sensors are fitted get hit. That's paying Rs 1 crore and driving a German car ("tank like build quality" as some moto-journalists put it) but getting killed.
I also believe that the extreme right lanes need to be vacated for the seven and a half tonne or heavier monsters or the self proclaimed "Kings of the Road". We have so many expressways/ 4 lane highways but our driving manners are still primitive. The roads are the best places as they say where one can adjudge animal-like behavior in humans and learn many lessons in psychology.
Hence, we law abiding drivers need to stay away from the speedier lanes. I would further go on to proclaim that we must try and maintain speeds of 60-70 kmph on such death traps. I may invite criticism here. Because a car is much in control @ 60-70 kmph.It becomes a bit out of our control at higher speeds. We drive at 100 kmph plus speeds (sorry not you, you only reached 80 kmph) and though our cars are designed to stop during emergencies, we must not forget that many fellow traffic users exhibit animal-like behavior and may pose a grave danger to us.
The VW reply which you have reproduced here appears farcical. The car they say was hit from the rear. The truck hit it from the rear - true. The front portion of your car was also smashed when it landed in the pit. What about the deployment after the frontal hit ?
Please do careful research when you buy your next car, but its best to keep left and drive safe. Also with your resilience that you have already shown, you will get over the bad dream.